I am lead curator for Virtual Futures’ Near-Future Fictions series which returns in 2019 to continue its mission to reassert the significance of science fiction as a tool for criticising, interrogating, and navigating possible tomorrows. Our aim is to promote stories that think critically about the sorts of technological developments that are just over horizon, and provide a unique perspective on contemporary concerns related to the perceived trajectory of scientific innovation.

27 June 2018 (7pm): London LASER Labs #2 Liminal Bodies – I’ll be reading and taking part in a panel exploring the intersection of the body and technology, ideas of the cyborg and speculative future narratives. (Central Saint Martins, London, N1C 4AA)

8 July 2018 (1:30 to 2:45): Bradford Literature Festival | Robo-pocalypse, a panel on the current state of technology, how far it can go, and whether this fundamentally changes our understanding of what it means to be human. [Richmond Building, University of Bradford]

9 July 2018: Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence lunchtime seminar – “Scifi author Stephen Oram talks about his collaboration with Bristol Robotics Lab and the Human Brain Project that led to the SciFi flash fiction, Eating Robots. He will read a selection of near-future fictional thought experiments on AI and robots, including Eating Robots, and ask whether these are the things we should be worrying about.” [private event]

Spring 2018

16 January 2018 (7pm to 9:30pm): Unsung Stories Live – science fiction, fantasy, horror and all the other stuff that makes that fluffy nerdy bit of you quiver like a tribble. [Kings Cross, London]

19 March 2018 (7pm invite only): Launch of Jule Owen’s “The Kind”. I’ll be on panel of fellow writers, futurists, and scientists to explore the purpose and challenges of imagining the future. Jule’s book skirts a line between dystopia and utopia. The panel will discuss why it is so hard to imagine utopias, and the role of dystopia in provoking much-needed debate about how we are shaping the future with the science, technology, and industry of today.

15 May 2018 (6:30pm to 9pm): Virtual Futures presents Near-Future Fictions Vol. 07 on the theme of ‘Post-Brain‘. I’ll be reading a new story – “Cracked” [Library Club, Central London]

Speaking at events

If you’re looking for a speaker at an event, here’s an idea of the sort of things I’m up to.

Recently, my focus has been on collaborating with experts to understand the work that’s going on in neuroscience, artificial intelligence and deep machine learning. From this I write short pieces of near-future science fiction as thought experiments and use them as a starting point for discussion between me, scientists and the public.

I discussed these projects as part of a panel at the Science in Public 2017 conference: “The imagination of possible scientific futures has a colourful history of interaction with scientific research agendas and public expectations. Emphasizing fiction as a method for engaging with and mapping the influence of possible futures this panel will discuss the role of science fiction historically, the role of science fiction in the 21st Century, and its potential as a method for engagement between scientific researchers and publics.”

I’m happy to speak about my collaborations, about what’s interesting to me as a fiction writer and to use the science fiction to inspire discussion about what might happen when ‘messy’ humanity collides with slightly faulty tech and creates those cracks in the code.

I can also run workshops for event attendees who would like to have a go at writing a very short piece of fiction.

If you want to get in touch, the easiest way is to complete the short contact form below. Some alternative options are listed underneath.